San Sebastian is a beautiful city located on the coast of the Bay of Biscay, in the Basque region of Spain. It used to be  Spain’s royalty favourite summer destination. Now, it's still one of the most famous spots of Spain with belle époque architecture, vibrant culture and great beaches.

We explored the popular area of old town in San Sebastian, located at the bottom of Mount Urgull walking on the beautiful streets and gazing all around us.

We mingled with locals in Mercado La Bretxa. It's an old iconic market dating back to 1870 with food stalls offering local products. We tried the famous Idiazabal cheese.

We passed by Victoria Eugenia Theater, the venue that hosts the annual San Sebastian film festival.

We had a coffee at this beautiful place by the river. 

We crossed the beautiful Maria Cristina Bridge over Urumea River and enjoyed the nice views over the city from there.

We arrived in Constitution Square, a historc square that used to serve as a bullring

We spent the last part of the day on the Beach of Concha, the large beautiful sandy beach in the shape of a shell, where we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.

We spent the night in the old town of San Sebastian.

We started the second day with a trip to Mount Urgull, the tree covered mountain near the old town of the city. From the top of the mountain we had the best views of the city and the sea. 

We came down of the mountain and arrived in the beautiful Bay of La Concha. We had a stroll along the promenade and enjoy the views of the cityscape.

We continued our walk until the western tip of the bay. This is the place where the famous sculptures of Basque artists Eduardo Chillida "El Peine del Viento" are located.

On the way back we stopped to eat at this lovely terrace by the sea.

Weekend in San Sebastian

Symi is a small beautiful Greek island close to Turkey. It's part of the Dodecanese islands and it is easily reachable from the island of Rhodes by ferry in about one hour. We spent two days on the lovely island. A cute fact about is is that it's in top 5 places in the world in terms of longevity. The residents often reach the age of 90 and are still active climbing stairs and doing daily business.

The main harbour on the island is Yialos, where we arrived. It's a beautiful scape with nice colourful houses layering down the hillside. 

We stopped to eat at Pantelis, by the water. The food was very good and the views amazing. We had some seafood perfectly cooked.

We walked up and down the beautiful streets streets of The Old Markets and the harbour, by the water with great views over the island, the town and the sea.

We walked up till we reached Castle ruins of Knights of St. John. It was quite a climb to there, but there are amazing views from there. It's not much left of the castle, but we definitely enjoyed the views. 

We got down to Symi Harbour, enjoyed the views with the fishing boats and the colours there and made our way towards the beach for the last part of the day.

We went to Sarah Beach to relax, one km away from the harbour. It's a a small quite beach, a perfect place to relax.

For dinner we stopped at Tholos. The food was great and the view super nice. 

Today we decided to take a a boat trip around the island. We could have rented a car and explored the island from the land, but we decided to do it from the boat. 

The boat ride we took lasted for several hours and included the lunch. We admired the beautiful island of Symi from the water and it was quite a pleasant experience.

Returned on the land, we went to Chorio for lunch, a town situated at the top of the Kali Strata in Symi. Cholrio is more local, with an authentic vibe. We had a bit of a climb to get there, but we made several stops and enjoyed the views.

We had authentic Greek dinner at There’s Georgio & Maria Restaurant. It was a great experience with delicious food. 

Two Days in Symi

We were in Helsinki, Finland's capital, for two days. We enjoyed exploring the city's attractions. Here's what we did while there!

We started the visit in Helsinki with Temppeliaukio Church. It's an incredible church carved from natural bedrock, with a copper dome above. 

We moved to Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art and cultural center in Helsinki, with amazing exhibitions from local and international artists. The exhibits change every year. 

Still on the art scene, Amos Rex gathers 20th century and contemporary art collections and exhibitions inside a former private home of an art collector.

We headed to Herkku Market Bistro in Stockmann to grab something for lunch. We tried some Finnish dishes and we then found out that Finnish dishes are actually cheaper than other specialities.

After lunch, we walked towards Senate Square. The fine square is surrounded by some impressive buildings, like Helsinki Cathedral, Government Palace and the university.

Helsinki Cathedral is probably the most famous local landmark. It's an incredible neoclassical Cathedral with an iconic green dome.

We ended our first day in Helsinki at Cafe Regatta, a cute cosy cafe in a red hut sitting by the water. It's an awesome place where we enjoyed beautiful views as well.

We started the second day in the city with breakfast at Ekberg 1852. It's Helsinki’s oldest bakery

After the breakfast, we slowly walked towards Market Square, where we boarded on a ferry towards Helsinki’s famous fortress. 

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We wandered around the former fortress exploring the cannons, tunnels, the dockyard, museums and the cafes.

We got back to Market Square for lunch. The square is filled with stalls with fruit, vegetables, seafood and others. We had some salmon with fried gegetables and it was delicious.

Allas Sea Pool is an open sea pool. We rested on some dock chairs and enjoyed the views and the atmosphere.

We walked to Esplanadi, a beautiful green area with statues and a ponder.

At the end of the day, we had to try the traditional Finnish sauna. We went to Löyly, a famous sauna with Scandinavian architecture, located on the Baltic Sea.

We had dinner at Yes, Yes, Yes, a vegetarian restaurant and they have quite a creative menu and good food.

Two Days in Helsinki

2 days in the uk

It's the country's second largest city, but somehow, people don't necesarilly think of Graz when talking about Austria. The thing is that it's a beautiful city, with a unique feel and many fine attractions.

Schlossberg is a wonderful city space. It's a hill in the city that once was the site of a fortress that protected the city. There are still some ruins of the fortress there, the rest of the hill being covered with forests, parks and entertainment areas. The great thing about the space are the wonderful view over the city from there. NIce zig-zag stairs climb to the top of the hill.

While on the hill of Schloßberg, we paid a visit to the iconic Clock Tower. It's a medieval clock tower with large wooden balconies, a beautiful garden and, of course, wonderful panoramic views from there.

The Old Town of Graz is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's a beautiful area with historical buildings, narrow streets and small cute squares. We admired the medieval and Renaissance architecture while walking on the streets of the old town.

Hauptplatz is the city’s main square and a place for activities in the city, like festivals, markets and other events. The square is surrounded by buildings housing Rathaus or Town Hall and residential buildings.

We also paid a visit Graz Cathedral, the beautiful Gothic Roman cathedral built in 15th century. 

The city of Graz is crossed by Mur River. Murinsel is a modern "island", a beautiful man-made structure of steel and glass floating on the river and housing a theater and a cafe. 

We also visited another modern landmark. Graz Art Museum is based in a futuristic building with a shapeless roof and holds exhibits of co contemporary art.

We started our second day with Kaiser-Josef-Platz Market, the most popular market in the city. The salls are full of local products, most of them organic. It's a nice colourful area where local people sell fresh fruit, vegetables, bread and not only.

We then took a walk in the nice Graz Park. It's a peaceful place where people come to picnic, relax, do some sport activities.

We then went to see the famous double spiral stairs inside the Burg, this beautiful 15th century castle.

We left the city center for a bit and went to visit impressive Eggenberg Palace with its Baroque architecture, gardens and ponds. There's also a cafe there. 

We came back in the center and checked Landeszeughaus, the museum of armory. The museum includes thousands of pieces of weaponry from the 15th to 19th centuries and artifacts used in wars.

We ended our visit in Graz with a visit to Landhaus Courtyard, where we admired the elegant Renaissance palace with arched windows and this beautiful courtyard of arcades.

Weekend in Graz, Austria

The island of Kythnos is one of the lesser known islands of Greece, part of the Cyclades. However the island is very beautiful and it's not extremely far from Athens. The ferry gets here in 3 hours.

We arrived in Merichas Harbour by ferry. As we set foot on the island, we had a coffe at one of the waterside cafe right in the harbour.

After we relaxed in the harbour enjoying the views and the atmosphere, we rented a car and drove to Dryopida village. It's a very picturesque village built in a valley in the middle of the island. We took a walk along the village's beautiful streets with whitewashed houses

In the middle on the village we visited an unexpected site, the Katafiki cave that used to serve as a hideout from pirates. The name of the cave comes from the Greek word that meand refuge. It's a beautiful place to visit.

We moved to Messaria, the main town of the island, built on the slopes of a hill. It's a charming town with Cycladic vibe. We walked on its cobblestone alleyways with whitewashed houses with colourful doors and window, nice squares and many tavernas and cafes. We spent the night here.

After the breakfast, we got back in the car and moved further.

We visited the town and one of the thermal springs there, Spa Kythnos. 

The island of Kythnos has more than 100 beaches, most of them really beautiful. Kolona Beach is a special beach as it's a double-sea-fronted strip of sand connecting Kythnos with the islet of Agios Loukas. We spent some time at the beach swimming on both sides of the sea.

There are several hiking trails on the island. We took the one towards that took us to Vryokastro Archaiological Site of Kythnos. There are some amazing views over the island, the sea and Kolona Beach from there. 

We left the beautiful island in the evening.

Kythnos Island

The beautiful Croatian island of Brac is a summer paradise. It has some amazing beaches, adventure sports and incredible nature. We arrived on the island by ferry from Split in about one hour.

Arriving in Supetar Town, we started our day on the island by exploring the town. It's a charming urban area with picturesque cornes everywhere. 

We then took a bus to Pućišća town, one of the most beautiful places on the island, with a nice cityscape from the coast. The town is known for its nice white stone products. We visited the exhibitions of Sculpting Academy in Pučišća and learnt a bit about the work and the techniques of stone modeling and sculpting.

We took a cab towards the other side of the island. We stopped at Vidova Gora, the highest poin of the island. The view from the top of the hill is breathtaking.

Then continued to Bol. Because of its spectacular beaches, Bol has become one of the main tourist attractions, not only in Brac, but also in Croatia. The main beach is Zlatni Rat. It has an interesting shape and perfect crystal clear waters. Actually it has been voted as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We spent some nice time at the beach here

We then wanted to explore some remote places of the island so we walked on the coast towards Murvica area. We knew there were some wild wonderful beaches. It was a really nice walk as well and the beaches around Zlatni Rat are simply amazing.

In the evening we spent time at Varadero Bar, with great music in a cosy place and nice atmosphere.

We had a late breakfast on the island's coast.

Ant then spent some more gorgeous time on the islan's stunning wild beaches just swimming and sunbathing and reading before heading back.

At the end of the day, we took the bus back to Supetar and then by feery back to Split.

Weekend in Brač

We enjoyed our time in the small city of Bilbao, in the Basque region of Spain. Set amid rolling green hills and mountain ranges in north of Spain, Bilbao is vibrant and stylish city located along the Nervion River.

Casco Viejo is the old town of Bilbao. It is quite small, locals often call it "The Seven Streets", but is the beautiful heart of the city with narrow pedestrian streets filled with painted stone buildings and nice local bars and cafes.

Right in the center, Plaza Nueva is a small beautiful sqaure enclosed by fine buildings and restaurants.

We visited Santiago Cathedral, the 14th century church with a Gothic facade and decorations, now a UNESCO listed site

La Vieja or Bilbi is another old and nice neighbourhood of Bilbao, right next to Casco Viejo, on the Nervión River. It has become a cool spot of the city with funky bars, art galleries,  colorful street murals, bars and nice boutiques.

Miribilla Parkea is the nice green area of the neighbourhood that often hosts markets and concerts.

We walked the cool streets of the neighbourhood and had a late something to eat at El Perro Chico, a beautiful place right by the river, with delicious food and friendly staff.

As we walked along the river with beautiful views over the city, we came across Ribera Market, located also on the river bank. It's Europe’s largest covered market. It was rewarded with the title of "the most complete market in the world" by Guinness Book.

We started the second day where we ended the previous one, at Ribera Market.

We then took a nice long walk on the river till we arrived at one of the coolest spots of the town.

We admired the Zubizuri Bridge over the Nervion River, it's a beautiful modern tied arch footbridge that looks like a sailboat on the river.

We arrived at the cool Guggenheim Museum. It's a museum of modern and contemporary art in a super interesting titanium and glass building, designed by Frank Gehry. It's one of Bilbao's symbols.

We explored the cosmopolitan El Ensanche neighbourhood, with first rate shops, restaurants, and modern buildings.

Casa Montero is an Art Nouveau building called the "Gaudi House", though it was not designed by Gaudi, but it resembles the Gaudi style.

We then took the funicular to Mount Artxanda, a beautiful mountain peak that offers spectacular views over the city and the surroundings. We spent some time there as it was our last spot in Bilbao.

Weekend in Bilbao, Spain

Though it's not a very populat tourist attraction, Riga, the capital of Latvia, is a very beautiful destination on the Baltic coast, perfect for a weekend or a city break. 

First place we checked was Bastion Hill Park. We took a nice walk in the lovely park located in the old town of the city. It used to be the old city’s fortifications, now a park full of gardens, canals, and bridges.

We continued with exploring Riga's Old Town. Kaļķu Street is the main street crossing through the heart of the old town. Entering deeper into the old town, we waked around the beautiful medieval streets and squares.

Livu Square was destroyed in the Second World War and reconstructed after that. It's now a colourful corner with flower beds, cafes and restaurants and nice architecture buildings around. 

We visited St. Peter’s Church, the highest church in the city, that you can spot from many parts of the city. It's a large Gothic church dating from 1209. It's possible to climb in the church's tower. There are fantastic views from there. 

The Dome Square is a beautiful square where the impressive Riga Cathedral stands. Apart from the cathedral, there are other nice buildings around like Riga Bourse Art Museum, some government buildings and Doma Dārzs restaurant that drwas attention with the street art on it.

Three Brothers are the oldest residential buildings in the city. The three beautiful but different buildings standing one next to another are built between 15th to 17th centuries and are home to  local craftsmen.

The Swedish Gate is one of the few remaining parts of the once fortification around the town. The gate is actually a small passage through what looks like residential houses. 

We started the second day with a visit to Riga Central Market. It's an indoor and outdoor market with many different local Latvian goods.

We then took a walk along Riga's riverfront till we arrived at Riga Ghetto and Latvian Holocaust Museum. It'a museum dedicated to the memory of the Jewish people that suffered during the Nazi occupation. The exhibits of the museums details individuals’ stories from the dark days.

Latvian Academy of Sciences is an imposing building from the Soviet era. We climbed in the tall tower to get to the observation deck. There are nice views over the city from there.

We also paid a visit to Alberta Street, as well as Elizabetes and Antonijas Streets to admire some beautiful art nouveau buildings.

And ended our visit in Riga with a quick stop at KGB Museum. This is where the headquarters of KGB secret police was during the Soviet rule in Latvia.

Weekend in Riga

While in the Transylvania city of Cluj-Napoca, in the heart of Romania, we went on a weekend trip a bit further from the city I already knew to discover some beautiful areas. We left the city early in the morning.

Our first stop was to visit The Citadel Alba-Carolina in the town of Alba Iulia. The Citadel Alba-Carolina is a star shaped fortress built by Habsburg rule in Transylvania back in 1700s, now home to museums, churches and cafes, bars and restaurants.

We continued our journey South with one of the most spectacular road I took, Transalpina Road, that goes over the Parâng Mountains in the Carpathians and reaches the altitude of 2000 meters above sea level. Spectacular views on this road that was once the King's Road. It is open during summer months only.

We stopped to eat at Ștefanu Sheepfold, which is a touristic sheepfold where you can eat some traditional rustic dishes like polenta with cheese and sour cream or stew prepared in a big pot outside by the fire. After we rested for a while at that altitude watching the mountain peaks, we continued our journey


After a long beautiful drive, we got of the mountain and visited our last point for the day, The Woman's Cave, which is a beautiful cave known for the discovery of ancient human and bear remains.

Ended the day in the small city of Targu Jiu.

We visited the famous monuments, the workart of famous Romanian sculptor, Constantin Brancusi: Infinity Column, The Gate Of The Kiss and The Table of Silence, situated in different parts of the city center. They all honour the Romanian soldiers in First World War.

We took another scenic road, along Defileul Jiului National Park, a beautiful road along the River Jiu.

Our next stop was to visit Corvins' Castle in Hunedoara city. It's an impressive Renaissance fortress rebuilt in the 19th century, with Gothic towers and a history museum.

Our final stop was in a small village, less touristic, to visit the Roman Baths there. It's a beautiful site.

Weekend Getaway from Cluj, Romania

The Isle of Skye is one of Scotland’s most picturesque destinations. The island's breathtaking scenery, cute towns, and wonderful coastline attract more an more tourists. It's better to go on a road trip around the island to be able to explore it on your own pase and time.

We started our itinerary on the Isle of Skye with the unique and unusual landscape of The Fairy Glen. The site looks like an out of this world land. We took a short walk on the mystical area, it's an easy hike.

We continued with a quick stopt at Kilt Rock to admire the fantastic coastline of the Isle of Skye with extraordinary Mealt Waterfall in sight.

Still on the coast, we arrived at Brother’s Point, a spectacular peninsula and a hidden gem of the Isle of Skye as not many people seem to know about it.

The Old Man of Storr is one of the Isle of Skye’s icons. It's a fantastic landscape with a steep rocky face on one side and green slope on the other side.

We had a quick stop at Dunvegan Castle & Gardens, a beautiful renovated 13th century castle built on an elevated rock overlooking Loch Dunvegan inlet.

Now we arrived at the Isle of Skye’s most popular place, Neist Point Lighthouse. We walked all the way from the parking to the lighthouse. This is a nice place for watching the sunset, which we also did.

From Portee we drove towards another popular attraction on the island.

We started our second day on the Isle of Skye with Fairy Pools, a complex of multiple waterfalls of blue green colour, with cold water pools where you can swim.

We visited the only whisky distillery on the Island of Skye, Talisker Distillery. We tasted some good whisky and took a tour of the distillery. There's also a shop where you can buy some whisky bottles.

We stopped to eat at The Old Inn, pretty close to Talisker Distillery. It's a cosy pub with tasy food. 

In the afternoon we took a hike to Bla Bheinn, a remote beautiful mountain with panoramic views from the top. It has around 900 meters altitude.

Isle of Skye Itinerary

We had a few days off and shortly decided to book a flight to Sicily to relax on its beautiful beaches at the Mediterranean. We arrived in Catania.

We took the train to Giardini Naxos. We decided to stay here for its sandy long and wide beaches and also because it's close to Taormina that we wanted to visit. On this first day, we simply relaxed at the beach.

We had breakfast and headed to the train station.

We arrived in Taormina and decided we will dedicate the day to the beautiful city.

We started with a a walk at Isola Bella, which is a tiny, rocky island within a nature reserve and pebble beaches, just at the foot of Taormina.

We decided to walk towards the town of Taomina. That includes climbing the steep streets but the view is very nice and we enjoyed the cute streets and houses on the way.

We arrived at Teatro Antico di Taormina and visited the spectacular remains of ancient Greco-Roman theater now serving as an open air museum and also for entertainment events. There's a superb view of Mount Etna, the volcano, from there.

We walked on the streets of beautiful Taormina admiring every corner of it till we arrived at Piazza IX Aprile, which is large a spectacular square with a church, nice cafes and a balustrade with magnificent view over Mount Etna, Naxos bay and the ruins of the ancient theater. We took our time here to rest and to contemplate.

We decided to walk further up, to Castelmola, which is a small lovely town above Taormina. We took a side hike with stairs and cactuses on the way till we reached the village.

Piazza Saint Antonio in Castelmola is a beautiful square in Castelmola with superb view over Taormina and the sea. From there we slowly climbed down on foot also.

We enjoyed the beach some more before we headed back home.

It was a pleasant short Sicilian holiday. :

Short Sicilian Holiday

Sibiu is a beautiful small Transylvanian town situated in the heat of Romania, pretty close the Carpathians Mountains. Its name comes from the Cibin River crossing the town. The town also has a German name as it was founded by Saxons settlers some 800 years ago. Its German name is Hermannstadt, after its founder. Today the town is one a cultural hub in the country.

When walking towards the city old center, just when stepping in the old part of the town, there are two lines of medival walls. The area between them is now a park with a nice alley you can walk on.

The Large Square of the old town in a beautiful big square where all major events and festivals take place. It's also the place for Christmas Market. Around the square there are museums and historical buildings.

Brukenthal, former residence of the Transylvanian governor, is one of the finest art museums in this part of Europe. 

We moved then to Small Square, near the Large Square, lined with cafes and bars. We climbed in Council Tower for a beautiful of the town from above. We could even see the mountains in the distance as it was a beautiful day outside.

We then stopped at a cafe at a beautiful coffe with nice view over the city and over the beautiful roofs of the houses in Sibiu. The roofs in Sibiu have eyes, windows in the shape of eyes. You feel the whole city looking at you. :) They also have delicious cakes at the cafe.

Astra Museum, a bit further from the city cener, revives the atmosphere of traditional Romanian villages. It's a large museum displayig more than 300 houses from different area of the country.

We went back in the center after visiting the village museum and checked another small beautiful square in the town, Huet Square, with colourful buildings and doors. We spent the night in Sibiu.

After the breakfast and another short walk in the lovely town of Sibiu, we left towards the mountains.

The next day we travelled to a mountain resort not far from Sibiu, Paltinis. We spent most of the day relaxing in the cool air of the mountains and taking easy hikes around the place. The resort has also some nice ski slopes in winter.

Weekend in Sibiu and Surroundigs

Modern Berlin is one of the most popular cities to visit in Europe. It's a historic city, full of culture and, in modern times, has become very cosmopolitan. Here's how my city break in Berlin looked like!

In my first day in the city I visited some major attractions. I started with Checkpoint Charlie, which was one of the most well-known border crossings between East and West Germany. It's now a symbol of the once divided city and it's one of the most visited spots of Berlin.

East Side Gallery are remains of Berlin Wall, now covered in beautiful graffiti. You can walk along the pretty long wall and admire the meaningful graffiti.

I also checked Berlin Holocaust Memorial, a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It's a large square which small slopes and many concrete slabs symbolizing the lost lives.

The huge Brandenburg Gate is a landmark of Berlin and has become a European symbol of unity and peace.

After my long walk along Berlin's history, I ended up in Tiergarten, one of the most beautiful urban parks I've been to. Originally, a hunting ground, it's now a very big park with meadows and alleys and lakes and shadows where you can walk or have a picnic.

I started my second day in Berlin with a walk along the River Spree. I walked along the banks of the river admiring the scenery along the way. Spree Riverfront is a nice area, where local use to gather on weekends, sitting on the green area by the river.

Also on the River Spree, Museum Island is a gather of many Berlin museums and attractions. You can take a full day only to check a few of them, like Old Museum, New Museum, Bode Museum, the Old National Gallery. It's also a place where youngsters come and meet and spend time.

I decided I had enough of history and main attractions for this short visit to Berlin and just wanted to feel the atmosphere of a hip district of Berlin. Kreuzberg is a hip corner of Berlin with  street art, graffiti, and nice cafes and the coolest people around.

Finally, I paid a visit to Markthalle Neun, a food market with a fine variety of international food, also shops and a cool place for some cultural events.

Weekend in Berlin

We spent a weekend on the Isle of Skye in North of Scotland. It is a dreamland with amazing nature and sights.

We arrived in the north west of the Isle of Skye, in Uig town, a place popular for going puffin spotting. We took a short boat ride not far from Uig and had the chance to spot a few of those beautiful coloured birds.

From Uig we took a hike to The Fairy Glen. It's a beautiful mountainscape where part of the Game of Thrones was filmed. With its lush green grass and hills, it seems a land out of this world.

We next visited Skye Museum of Island Life which offerend a beautiful insight of how life on this part of the world was.

We were starving so we stopped at Flodigarry Hotel for lunch. It's a cosy place where we ate and also tried a bit of local whiskey.

We took a hike on another fantastic and out of this world spot. We could not get enought of those green mountains with beautiful rock formations and wild landscapes.

On our way back to Portree we admired the beautiful coastline. We stopped from spot to spot to admire some more absolutely amazing landscapes. Apart from Kilt Rock, we also stopped at Mealt Falls, Brothers Point, Rigg Point Lealt Falls.

The next day, we got back in the car and visited some other awesome spots. The Old Man of Storr rock formation is one of the symbols of the Isle of Skype. Another beautiful hike in the mountains here. Just a short one.

We paid a visit to Dunvegan Castle and explored both the castle and the gardens of the 13th century built castle. 

Beautiful stone Sligachan Bridge was build in 1810. It'a great view with the stone bridge and Cuillans Mountain in the background.

We had a walk along the stream that took us to Fairy Pools. Beautiful crystal clear pools of water

Before we left this amazing land, we bought some local whiskey from Talisker Distillery.

Isle of Skye Road Trip

Edinburgh is a magnificent Scotland city. It's the city that inspired JK Rowling for creating the Harry Potter series, so there are many fantasctic sights to check here, from visiting a beautiful castle to climbing a volcano.

We first visited the most notable place on the city, the Edinburgh Castle. Sitting on top of Castle Rock, the remains of a dormant volcano, the castle was build in 12th century serving as a fortress to defend the city. Inside the castle, we admired the Crown Jewels and Royal chambers there.

After visiting the castle we walked on the Royal Mile, stopping at different interesting spots along the way. The Royal Mile is this one mile busy street that connects Edinburgh Castle with Holyrood Palace, lined with shops and eateries and beautiful buildings

On Royal Mile, we stopped at Camera Obscura, on the top of a six floor building. The rooms there are filled with illusions, puzzles, and optical tricks. As we travelled with kids, it was a fun stop for them, but for us as well. Plus, we admired Edinburgh streets from above the building.

We tasted some good whisky and lerned about the distilling of scotch whisky at Scotch Whisky Experience.

St Giles' Cathedral is one of Scotland's symbols. The church was built in 14th century and is the main church of Edinburgh  today. 

At the end of the Royal Mile, we arrived at the splendid Palace of Holyroodhouse. The official residence in Scotland of Queen Elizabeth is open to public when the queen is not in Scotland. The popular attractions of the palace are the chambers of Mary, Queen of Scots.

We ended the day with a visit at this fantasctic green area on top of a hill. Just a few minutes walk from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Arthur’s Seat is located in magnificent Holyrood Park. The park is actually the remains of an extinct volcano that erupted 350 million years ago. We hiked to the highest point of the park, Arthur's Seat. There are fantastic views over the city and the sea from there.

We started our second day in Edinburgh with a vist to the National Museum of Scotland. It's free to enter and there are interesting exhibits of Scottish history, art, science and technology.

Surgeons' Hall Museums housed in a 1832 building displays one of the largest collections of pathological specimens in the world.

The Scottish National Gallery is free to visit and it has some nice art collections. National collection includes European masterpieces and Scottish works, with seasonal exhibitions.

After we had enough of museums, we took a walk in Princes Street Gardens, the beautiful green hill with wonderful views of the city.

We then had a walk on Victoria Street, we admired its colorful façades and Gothic architecture.

In the afternoon we headed away from Edinburgh and paid a visit to picturesque Dean Village, the quiet village with beautiful gardens and fine 19th century buildings.

Two Days in Edinburgh

Kea is a beautiful Greek island nor very far from Athens. Part of the Cyclades archipelago, the island has beautiful hilly countryside and quiet beaches. We arrived there by ferry from Athens.

Our first stop on the island was at Panagia Kastriani Monastery. Surrounded by legends, the church is very beautifun and from there you have spectacular views over the sea.

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